To Love A Wolf
by DecidedBeauty
Summary: Remus has a secret, and its one he feels he has to hide from everyone he meets and even those he loves. New friends will teach him what it is to trust one another and one boy will teach him what it is to love, no matter what faults a person has.
1. Chapter 1

To Love A Wolf 

Chapter 1

The wind blew hard as a small boy of five years played at the edge of the forest near his parent's small house, the sun sinking slowly behind the trees as night approached. He waved up at his mother as she sat on the porch drinking a glass of ice tea, knitting a dark brown sweater as she kept an eye on her son. They seemed like a normal family to anyone who just happened to look at them, but in truth, they were a little different. The woman's husband was a wizard and he was the Head of Magical Games and Sports at the Wizarding World's Ministry of Magic, and her son had inherited his fathers power. She was what the magical community called a Muggle, a person who couldn't perform magic or had no magic blood running through their veins. While most non-magic people feared it the moment they came face to face with it, she had found it just another thing that made her husband who he was and she had no problem with magic being a major point in their life. She knew that there were dangers with it, of course, but then there were many dangers in a life without magic anyway.

"Look, Mommy!" the small boy called, rising to his chubby feet as he lifted something to show her, sandy-brown bangs falling into his rosey-round face. The woman lifted her eyes from her knitwork and squinted a bit to see her son held a small four-leaf clover.

"That's a four-leaf clover, Remus. Keep it in your pocket and keep it with you. It's believed in my family that they'll bring you good luck," she told him, smiling. Her family was of Irish decent, and it was obvious that she was completely Irish from her emerald green eyes to her deep red locks. Her son had inherited his fathers genes, looking like a natural British lad. She had wanted a little girl when she'd first found out she was pregnant, one that would have her hair and eyes, but after Remus was born, she found she would have never traded him for an Irish girl. He was her pride and joy, and those who knew her were quick to see he was her endless source of happiness. After he was born, she had caught a flu that had left her healed but unable to bear any more children. When people gave her their sypathies, she assured them that Remus would always be more than enough.

Remus smiled widely and giggled as he placed the four-leaf in the bib pocket of his overalls. He then sat on his bottom once more and played with his little toy black dog. It was his favorite stuffed animal that his mother had given to him on his first Christmas and he rarely went anywhere without it. He had named it Blacky as soon as he had a good grasp on talking.

The phone in the kitchen gave a shrill call, sounding through the open front door. The woman looked up and sighed as she stood, placing her project in her chair.

"Remus," she called. "Mommy's got to get the phone. Be good and play, okay? Don't wander off anywhere. I'll be right back."

She dissapeared inside, unaware that her son, who had heard a snap in the underbrush just inside the forest, hadn't heard a thing. He looked up at the porch, smiling as he found it empty, and stood up. With one more glance at the house, he stepped into the forest and looked around.

A beautiful yellow and orange butterfly perched itself on his nose and he squealed with delight, causing it to take off, deeper into the forest. Giggling, he followed it, unaware that it was growing darker by the minute. Before long, he lost sight of the butterfly and looked around, suddenly scared. It was almost completely dark, though the full moon overhead made the area fairly visable, and he didn't know where he was.

"Mo-mmy?" he whispered, his voice shaking. "Mommy?" His voice grew louder and soon tears were falling down his cheeks.

A snap a few feet away made him jump and squeak. "Mo-mmy?" he called, unsure and afraid. But what appeared before him was not a person at all.

A large wolf stood before him, growling deeply as its eyes fixated on the boy who stood motionless with fright. He lowered its lower half, ready to pounch when the boy took off. With an angry bark, he took chase.

The boy continued to run as fast as his small body could carry him. He looked behind him, not watching the path before him. He fell hard as his foot got caught on an uplifted root. He scrambled to get loose of the root, but he soon heard the hungry, dripping growl of the wolf.

Creeping forward, the wolf sniffed deeply, the smell of flesh and fear enticing its nostrils. It lowered its top half once more and jumped at the boy, mouth open. Its teath caught the boy's leg, hot blood rushing into its mouth as the painful scream filled his ear. It released the leg, sure that it had immobilized the boy, but the boy fought hard against the limb trapping his other foot and ran hard the moment it was loose, ignoring the pain in his wounded leg. He felt odd, lightheaded and different. His body was burning and his mind was clouding. He could hear the wolf behind him, running but half heartily. He didn't even think to be scared of it. He ran until he burst out of the forest, screaming loudly for him mother.

The woman who had come out of her house to find her son gone looked up frantically from her seat on the porch, yelling for her husband as she ran caught sight of her son. Running to him, she gasped as she caught sight of his wound and lifted him, holding him tightly against her body. She placed him on the couch in their living room, brushing her fingers through his hair as her husband phoned the Wizarding Hospital. He'd been almost positive that it was a werewolf that bit his son and he wanted to be sure. He knew that if he was correct, there was almost certainly no cure.

"I'm sorry, Mommy," the boy whispered, as his eyes fell closed. He was burning and his head hurt unbareably. His mother brushed back his sweat soaked bangs and cooed him.

"Shh, honey. It'll be alright, love. Mommy and Daddy will make it all better. Sleep, honey. The doctor will be here soon."

The woman watched as her little boy drifted off to sleep and was nodding off herself when the door bell rang. She jumped to her feet just as her husband let the man in. His white jacket proclaimed Healer Harold Potter, Creature Induced Injuries Department. He shook her husbands hand and sighed.

"I came as soon as I got the call, Mr. Lupin," he said, taking out his wand and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Where is the boy?"

"Right over here, Harold," Mr. Lupin said, leading him to the couch as his wife moved out of the way. He joined her side, holding her close as the man looked over the bite and made a few noncommital sounds. Finally, he sighed and straightened, running his hand through his receding black hair.

"I'm afraid it was as you feared, Ben. He will live, don't fear his life, but the beasts saliva has trasmitted and he is now one himself."

Mrs. Lupin looked up at her husband, and back to the doctor. "One what?"

Mr. Lupin sighed as Harold looked down for a moment and back up once more, eyes locking with the woman's.

"A werewolf, I'm afraid. Every month, on the night of the full moon, he will transform into a werewolf himself. I'm very sorry."

"Thank you, Harold. Do you know of anything we can do? Is there any cure in testing that we can try?"

The bespectacled man shook his head and frowned. "I'm sorry, Ben. There's nothing you can do, but to find somewhere he can transform on the full moon away from you, your wife, and others. That's all you can do."

Mr. Lupin nodded and moved away from his wife after rubbing her shoulders. "Come on, Harold. I'll show you out."

When he came back, he found his wife at their son's side, tears escaping her as she sobbed.

"What about his childhood? School? He was to go to Hogwarts, Ben. Now what are we to do?"

Mr. Lupin went to his wife and pulled her to her feet, hugging her tightly as he whispered into her hair, letting her cry into his shirt. "It'll be okay, Ellen. He'll be fine and as to Hogwarts, we'll deal with that when the time comes and hope for a miracle. For now we have to construct a place so that he can transform in and so that we're safe."

"It'll hurt him, Ben. I don't want our boy to hurt," she cried.

"He'll be fine. He'll get through it, and so will we. Come dear, let us go to bed. We need not worry for another month. Tommorow I'll start building a shack for him. You'll see, it won't be as bad as it seems."

He led her to their room with little resistance and they lay in bed, their thoughts buzzing with unanswered questions and fears, before they fell into a deep sleep accompanied by similar nightmares.

Little did they know, six years down the line a new man would come to be Headmaster and he would allow their son to come to learn at Hogwarts, with some precautions, of course.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Remus or Sirius, though I do very much wish I did. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Note to readers: This is my first time posting one of my fanfictions so I hope you will put up with any mistakes I may have made. Hope you like it! Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

To Love A Wolf 

Chapter 2

A sandy-brown haired boy sat in a compartment by himself on the Hogwarts Express, his forehead pressed against the cold surface of the window as he watched his fellow school-mates boarding the train, running from group to group, and saying their good byes to parents. He was eleven years old and was a first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was torn between excitement and fear that someone would find out his secret and he would be forced home. It was this fear that kept him from talking to anyone else. If he got too close, and he told them, he would be devestated when they shunned him for being what he was. He continued to stand by what he'd always believed. You can't get hurt, if there isn't anyone there to hurt you.

He sighed and closed his eyes. He didn't need friends when his books and school work were friends enough. In anycase, he was here to learn and getting close to anyone would just take him away from that learning. Deep in his mind, he knew that it wasn't the case, but it kept his mind from feeling a need for friendship just the same.

He was so deep in his thoughts, he was startled when the compartment door slid open hard, causing him to jump an inch from his seat, eyes snapping open. Laughter filled his ears as his eyes landed on a pair of raven-haired boys, one with short, spikey locks that looked as if they'd never seen either brush or comb a day in the boy's life; the other with shiny, straight hair that fell to his shoulders. The one with the unruly hair had a pair of square glasses perched on his nose and they both wore equally mischievious grins.

"Sorry about that, mate," said the bespectacled one. "Didn't mean to startle you." The two laughed once more and Remus waited patiently until their laughing fit had subsided. He figured the two wanted something if they were still here.

"Mind if we join you? We were late getting on the train so there aren't any empty compartments left and yours is the most empty."

That was from the longer haired boy. He shrugged and looked out the window once more, hoping they'd keep to themselves and leave him alone. That, however, wasn't the case.

"What's your name?" the boy with long hair asked, sitting across from him. "I'm Sirius Black, and this is James Potter."

The brown haired boy sighed and looked at them. The both of them were looking at him expectantly from the opposite seat. He finally smiled and decided that talking wouldn't hurt any.

"I'm Remus Lupin," he said. The boys started asking him questions and soon a discussion on favorite Quidditch teams and then which house they wanted to get sorted into took place.

"How about you, Remus?" James asked, bitting delicately into a Chocolate Frog, which he'd gotten from the snack trolley when she'd passed.

Remus bit his lip. In truth, he hadn't really thought about it. The surprise of actually being allowed to go had kept his mind preoccupied with fears that the Headmaster might have gotten his wit back and decided to not let him come after all.

"I suppose, " he said after a bit. "Ravenclaw or Gryffindor seem the best choices, though I'm sure they all have some good qualities to them."

The boy called Sirius raised a brow. "Oh yeah, I'm sure the Slytherins are loads of fun at tea parties. Remus, have you never seen any of the Slytherins? Just today, this sixth year tried to push a small first year off the platform and onto the track. Oh yeah, they sound real friendly."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Just because one of them tried to push you off the platform after you said something to him doesn't mean they are all like that, Sirius."

James cracked up as Sirius blanched. Remus grinned dispite himself and nodded to the window. "I saw it from in here. What did you say to him anyway?"

Sirius shook his head. "A said that his rat looked as if a cat spit him up." He shrugged as both Remus and James burst out laughing. "Well it did!"

Sirius was silent out of indignation as James and Remus continued to talk. Soon Sirius joined in and they were all surprised when the train began to slow.

"Oh, we're almost there," Remus said, glancing out of the window. By now it was dark enough that he couldn't see a thing but his reflection on the window. "We'd better change." He looked at his companions and noticed for the first time that they were already in their school robes.

Sirius grinned. "You mean, you'd better change."

Remus nodded and stood on the seat to shift through his trunk. He found his own school robes and pulled them out, hopping off the seat. He looked at James and Sirius pointedly and sighed exasperatedly when they looked right back at him, confused.

"Leave so I can change."

Sirius and James traded looks before shrugging and leaving the compartment as he changed. He called them back and they raised their brows at him.

"You know, you'll have to change in front of guys at Hogwarts."

Remus nodded, a little embarrased at his not liking changing in front of other guys. Sirius sensed his discomfort and shrugged.

"A lot of guys don't like to change in front of other guys, James," he told his friend. "Besides, I believe there is a bathroom and so he won't have to change in front of others if he doesn't want to."

James fell silent and Remus smiled gratefully at Sirius. The boy shrugged and grinned.

They soon reached the school and together, the three left their luggage on the train and headed for a large man calling for first years. Remus raised his brows.

"Woah," Sirius said. "That's one enlargement charm gone wrong."

Remus shook his head. "He's half giant, I believe."

Sirius made a face. "Well, excuse me, Professor Lupin." He laughed and Remus realized he was just joking and laughed along. The three of them got into one of the small boats together as other students filled the other boats. Slowly, the progression of boats began and it wasn't long before they rounded a large bend and recieved their first view of the castle. Many people voiced their awe, and even James and Sirius were stunned. It was really quite beautiful, looking up at the castle from the lake as they made their way to the school that would be their home for a majority of the next seven years.

They reached the shore and stepped on the ground. Together, Remus, Sirius, and James followed the half-giant and the rest of the first years up to the castle.

"Wait here," the large man said. "Professor McGonagall will be out in a moment to take you to the Great Hall."

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Disclaimer: I do not own Remus or Sirius, though I do very much wish I did. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Note to readers: This is my first time posting one of my fanfictions so I hope you will put up with any mistakes I may have made. Hope you like it!


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